Insightful Commentary from and on the Canadian Film World

48-Hour Film Shoot Survival: More Things to Know

There are a couple more things you need to be careful with when you’re shooting a film in 48, 72, or however few hours.

One challenge is finding a way to fit in the requirements of the competition. Every 48 or 72 hour film fest has an object, and a line for you to insert in your short film, and those are required — sometimes you need to make a film of a certain genre too. So fitting them in can be a bit of an interesting challenge. Sometimes it works, sometimes you have to rework things a little more.

Team members are vital when it comes to joining 48 hour film shoots and it’s always recommended to work with people you have worked with before. I knew just about everybody except for two people on the team and managed to meet them in advance so I would know what to expect from both of them. And not only crew members, but actors as well. It helps if you’re friends with a couple actors who want to help out in your production. If you’re working with actors who you just met through a Craigslist posting, you may not have enough time to communicate the idea and direct them through the production while giving them a clear idea.

By paying attention to all this, my team managed to submit our film three hours before the deadline.